Cintas release 12.6

Cintas Issues List of Best Practices for Maintaining Clean Restrooms to Enhance Image and Drive Repeat Business

CINCINNATI – According to a recent Harris poll survey, 86 percent of U.S. adults equate the cleanliness of a restaurant’s restroom with the cleanliness of its kitchen. The survey also revealed that 75 percent of U.S. adults would not return to a restaurant with dirty restrooms. Regardless of industry, clean restrooms directly impact a business’ ability to attract and retain customers. Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) today issued a checklist of best practices to help business owners and facility managers keep restrooms clean to boost sales and leave a powerful impression on guests.

“Maintaining clean restrooms is a critical component to the success of any organization,” said Brian Garry, Senior Director, Cintas Foodservice. “If not properly maintained, they will leave patrons with a poor impression, causing a decline in repeat customers which will negatively impact sales. The lifeblood of any restaurant is the repeat customer and no operator can afford to lose their best customers.”

Cintas’ best practices for maintaining clean restrooms include:

1. Develop a restroom maintenance program. To sustain clean restrooms, develop a program that outlines cleaning tasks and frequencies. Cleaning frequency largely depends on restroom usage. However, it’s critical that organizations thoroughly clean restroom surfaces at least once a day. In addition, management needs to train, reinforce and inspect the execution of the program so employees know exactly what is expected of them.

2. Give restrooms frequent attention. Beyond daily cleaning, assign specific employees to spot clean the restroom frequently. This is especially important during high-traffic periods. The goal of spot cleaning is to keep a restroom dry and free of debris, not to conduct a true “cleaning”. Spot cleaning ensures messes and spills won’t be left unattended and will also make routine, daily cleaning easier. Employees should keep surfaces dry and stock supplies consistently throughout the day. They should also regularly check toilets, urinals, sink areas, mirrors, dispensers and baby-changing areas, as well as check to ensure everything is functioning properly.

3. Equip staff with the right tools and chemicals. Pairing the proper cleaning tools with the right cleaning chemicals enable employees to clean with less effort while still producing quality results. Also, arming staff with chemical dispensing systems ensures they use correct dilution and controlled portions to optimize cleaning performance and reduce waste.

4. Deep clean restrooms on a routine basis. Many businesses only perform a spot and daily clean. However, deep cleans should also be performed on a routine basis. Deep cleaning will remove tough built-up soils left behind from normal daily cleanings. Deep cleaning should include all surfaces including walls, floors, toilet areas, sinks and mirrors. All surfaces should also be treated with disinfectant, followed by a fresh water rinse and extraction to make sure contaminants are gone for good. Doing so lifts away old grime and dirt making surfaces look like new and day-to-day cleaning easier.

5. Partner with the right facility services provider. By partnering with a provider, organizations can develop a customized program designed to meet their specific needs. A provider will ensure restrooms always have full and functioning dispensers and that staff is armed with the proper cleaning tools and chemicals to make restrooms look clean and fresh. In addition, trained technicians will also visit an organization’s facility on a routine basis to perform a deep clean. This is ideal for many businesses as they do not have the equipment or trained staff to complete this task.

“Restrooms can make or break a customer’s impression of a business,” said Dave Mesko, Senior Director of Marketing, Cintas. “Business owners should review their restroom maintenance program to ensure they allocate the right resources to the right tasks. Doing so will enable them to save time and money while providing users with a positive experience.”

Cintas Facility Services offers a wide range of solutions that enable businesses to build their image and increase profitability and productivity. These solutions improve the comfort and well-being of customers and employees. Whether you need restocking services, floor mat services, proper cleaning chemicals and tools or regular deep cleaning, Cintas can customize a program to meet your needs.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services to approximately 800,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a Nasdaq-100 company and component of the Standard & Poor''s 500 Index.